It Was a War
by Cybra
Summary: Izzy reflects on the Digital World War he took part in at some time after 02.


It Was a War

It Was a War

By Cybra

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A/N: I was actually inspired by one author's ranting (Matt Lee's to be exact) how Digimon shows war to be bloodless and all that. This is true, but I think that Digimon hint at what war _can_ be all about. This is told from Izzy's POV set after 02.

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Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon and I still wouldn't in another dimension.

People are so naïve sometimes when they discuss war.

They think they know all about it even if they were _never_ involved in a war.

They think it's all pain and disease and blood.

That's why they don't think _our_ war was truly a war.

This thinking isn't true in its entirely.

How would I know?

Because I was involved in a war from the time I was ten years old.

No blood in the usual sense was spilled, but many died. Wormmon died once but was reborn as were Whamon and various other Digimon, but Wizardmon died and _he_ never returned.

Gatomon still carries the pain from losing one of her best friends.

You see, physical pain heals over time. Bleeding stops, cuts heal, bones knit, torn tendons and ligaments seem to sew themselves back together.

Emotional pain never fully heals.

Ken is a prime example. He has mostly forgiven himself for the cruel things he did, but he still carries the emotional scars from both that experience and from the experience of watching his brother die before his eyes when he was a young and impressionable child. These wounds will _never_ fully heal. They'll remain throughout the rest of his life.

Throughout the rest of _all_ our lives.

Maybe we older Digidestined were jaded when we had to destroy all of those evil Digimon. At first, I wanted to puke the first time we actually _destroyed_ a real living creature. Over time, this nausea faded until I think I could've watched Digimon die all the time while feeling numb inside. Perhaps this is the reason why new recruits were brought in and why TK and Kari were allowed to become part of the new team.

They were pure, innocent.

They had no idea what they were getting into.

I mentioned Ken once before, and I'll mention him again. I noticed he too was a bit jaded from his time as the Digimon Emperor. He fought hard in order to make up for his foolish mistake, but I know that destroying a Digimon had less of an affect on him than it did on the others.

This war had cost lives even if some had been brought back.

One of which that was _not_ brought back was Yukio Oikawa.

He held MaloMyotismon in his body for years. Then, he surrendered his energy to the Digital World in order to restore the beauty that had almost been lost forever. He never returned. He was not brought back. He had been deleted like all creatures in the Digital World, but we saw him in pain and dying. We saw his death and wished we could've done something, _anything_ to spare him the horror of this war.

Oh, yes. This war _was_ horrifying.

Not only were homes of innocents destroyed but civilian casualties were also high. How many people do you think had been in those buildings that Digimon attacked? How many do you think were injured in a seemingly endless battle? How many people do you think were never found and seemed to just disappear?

How many do you think _died_ just because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time?

The others don't know the numbers. I suspect that a few of them know, but I know them by heart. These numbers are etched onto my heart since I suppose that _I_ was, in a way, partially responsible for their injuries, disappearances, and deaths.

Four hundred and thirty-six wounded.

One hundred and twelve never found and are assumed to be dead.

Fifty-nine confirmed dead.

If I knew all of those people's names, I'm sure they would be etched onto my heart as well.

But what about diseases coming from war?

Oh, the war itself was a disease.

You see, it didn't just _stop_ in Japan. No, it spread _all_ over the globe. It had to. Thanks to that fight with Apocalymon, children all over the world were sucked into the nightmare.

If _you_ had been pulled into the Digiworld and become a Digidestined, maybe _then_ you could say it wasn't a war. It would be your own opinion based upon your own experiences.

Then, I would respect your _informed_ opinion.

But _you_ weren't there.

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I was.

And believe me, it was a war.


End file.
